NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester's David Barrett and Heritage's Brandon Robinson have rushed the football a combined 4,732 yards this season.

Mathematically speaking that's about 2.7 miles.

This Friday Barrett and Robinson will meet. Again. Only this time it's for the sectional championship.

The two met earlier this season in week two, but Robinson and the Heritage Patriots got the best of Barrett and the Squires. Robinson ran for 241 yards compared to Barrett's 126, and Heritage gave Manchester its only blemish in its 10-1 season.

It would be real easy to get wrapped up in the fact that the state's career-leading rusher (Robinson) and the only back this year to break the 2,000-yard barrier in the regular season (Barrett) will be on the same field Friday.

Easy for you, but not Manchester.

"We don't have a problem with that here," said Manchester coach Al Bailey. "If David only got one yard and the team won, he'd be happy."

Happy enough that at Manchester's practice session on Tuesday Barrett only seemed interested in answering questions dealing with the team.

"We've gotta play our best as a team," said Barrett. "Winning is most important."

All season long Barrett has received the largest portion of attention for Manchester, but the humble Barrett aknowledges the fact that he hasn't done it alone. He's brushed the credit off his shoulders and on to a larger set of shoulders. Five of them to be exact. He wants his offensive line to be credited as well.

"They're awesome," said Barrett. "I tell them that all the time, and I think they're the best in 2A."

They'll have to be at their best Friday. Heritage's defense gives up an average of 13.7 points per game while its offense averages 35.8 points per game. When these two teams met earlier this season, Heritage blanked the Squires 21-0.

"The game will be real physical," said Bailey. "I think both coaches will prefer to run. Teams get better as they go on, and they should be at their best late in the season."

This is November, and judging by the way the Squires were dressed at practice, they seem to understand that the ball is in Mother Nature's hand as much as it's in Barrett's.

"A lot of what we'll do Friday depends on the weather, but we have a quarterback who can run or throw the football," said Bailey.

Another important factor for Manchester will be how well their seniors respond, a group Bailey said is a huge reason why Manchester is 10-1 and fighting for the sectional championship. Not 3-6, and a first round sectional loser like they were last year.

"The work ethic of our seniors has made a big difference, said Bailey. "There's only 8 of them, but they lead by example. They enjoy themselves in the weightroom, at practice, and they understand the importance of their grades." [[In-content Ad]]